Decking the Decks for the Big Event : Festivities: Newport residents prepare for the 83rd annual Newport Harbor Christmas Boat Parade, which begins Tuesday night.

As family and friends lugged boxes of garlands lights and miscellaneous decorations onto the Ebb N’ Tide, Jerry Van Vliet stood at the stern of the 51-foot cruiser and described the work in progress.

“We’ll have a lot of different-colored lights, green things that look like Christmas trees, some reindeer up front, and I’m going to see if I can get a Santa suit on my partner and get him to sit on top,” Van Vliet said. “And you have to run the coffeepot because it gets so cold you need something hot, a little Irish coffee maybe, to keep you warm.”

As Van Vliet can attest, preparations for the 83rd annual Newport Harbor Christmas Boat Parade are nothing if not elaborate.

At bay clubs and yacht clubs, and at bay-front homes, skippers spent the weekend decorating their boats for the weeklong parade, which makes its first run around Newport Bay on Tuesday just after sundown.

Organizers expect up to 200 official entries--those who paid the $25 entry fee and are likely to cruise the harbor every night and compete for nearly 20 awards. Another 100 or so boats are expected to tag along and join the fun only on some nights.

On shore, homes were also being spruced up. Balboa Island resident Ralph Caraco has turned his bay-side home into a Christmas wonderland. Out front, a Santa on a unicycle swings back and forth, while another Santa with sled and reindeer sits on a huge, revolving rooftop weather vane. On the dock in front of his home, a computerized laser light will entertain the crowds.

“I just do it for myself because I think it’s fun,” Caraco said.

With colorful yachts and laser light shows, it’s little wonder that the boat parade has evolved into a major attraction, drawing thousands of spectators. Once again tickets are available at Ticketron for prime parking places and grandstand viewing seats. Grandstand seating for Wednesday, kids night, is sold out.

“It’s shaping up to be spectacular once again,” said Richard Luehrs, president of the Commodores Club of the Newport Harbor Area Champer of Commerce, which sponsors the event.

Luehrs said that about 150,000 spectators are expected to attend the procession each night. Thousands more will be enjoying the revelry as passengers aboard the ships in the harbor.

With so many partying people on so many ships in such a relatively small harbor--with narrow turnarounds and moving targets like the Balboa Island ferry--there is always concern that something will go wrong.

Most agree that the biggest threat is the weather. Last year, winds caused cancellation of the parade on two nights, and persistent fog could pose problems this year. But the parade has yet to see a serious collision, and most observers agree that the police, the Coast Guard and, mostly, traditional rules of the water will keep everyone safe.

“It’s been a little scary at times, but most people are aware,” said the Commodores Club’s Bill Hamilton. “There’s been a few bumps, but nothing serious.”

But for most boaters, potential problems take a back seat to holiday preparations.

Parade chairman Ralph Rodheim said that watching the preparations is part of the holiday fun. “When you go over the bridge on Balboa Island, it’s a fairyland--a Christmas fairyland.”